TWIRP Communicationshttp://twirp.ca
Social Media for BusinessFri, 20 Feb 2015 16:29:54 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Responding in Private on Social Media is NOT Good Enough.http://twirp.ca/2015/02/responding-in-private-on-social-media-is-not-good-enough/
http://twirp.ca/2015/02/responding-in-private-on-social-media-is-not-good-enough/#commentsTue, 17 Feb 2015 11:03:41 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3633It's the advice we've all heard often enough...if a customer complains on your social media account, try to take the conversation private as soon as possible and get it resolved. I concur. Some things need to be dealt with privately. Your fans and followers don't need to see every detail of the conversation back and forth between you and a disappointed customer.

]]>It’s the advice we’ve all heard often enough…if a customer complains on your social media account, try to take the conversation private as soon as possible and get it resolved. I concur. Some things need to be dealt with privately. Your fans and followers don’t need to see every detail of the conversation back and forth between you and a disappointed customer.

HOWEVER

Doing all of your customer service privately is worse.

The Twitter Complaint

I admit it. My worry for my children got the better of me and I ranted on our local school bus transportation provider on Twitter. My elementary-aged girls were 30 minutes late. I wasn’t entirely sure if the bus was late, broken down, crashed somewhere (three snow days recently in a very hilly subdivision), or worse, if the bus had come and gone and they didn’t get off. Not to mention, I felt sorry for any parents that might be waiting outside for their children all that time (I’m lucky, they get off at our driveway and I don’t have to meet them).

At about 25 minutes late I checked their Twitter account. There were a few late buses around the city, but none mentioned in my area. I called the school and was told the last bus was gone and that they had to “double up” with another bus for whatever reason. Ok. Phew. They would be home soon…and they were home a few minutes later.

In between the call to the school and the bus finally arriving, I made the series of complaints via Twitter above. Yeah…I ranted a bit. I still feel my questions are justified.

HOWEVER

Never Responding Publically on Twitter

What I saw on the Twitter account was only broadcast tweets. Service interruptions. Cancellations. Road conditions. Late buses. Scrolling down I did not see a single response to anyone. People talk to them all the time. They’re tagged daily. Much of the conversation is complaints by students forced to wait for late buses, out in the freezing winter weather.

I was pleasantly surprised when I received a response to my tweets…IN PRIVATE! Of course they can direct message me as I am following them. The private conversation really resolved nothing, but that’s not my point today. They responded. BUT NONE OF THEIR OTHER FOLLOWERS WILL EVER KNOW!

Yes, they responded.
Yes, it was fairly quick.
Yes, they were professional.

Their other 1203 followers, and anyone looking in from the outside to determine whether or not it’s worth following them, will never know they responded to me. Or to anyone as I assume this is their Twitter policy…to respond in private.

So, looking at mentions of this company, you find tons of complaints and no responses. Would you naturally assume “Oh, they must be responding to all of those complaints privately?” I doubt it. We are much more likely to assume they are ignoring the complaints and queries.

Respond to Complaints in Public, THEN Take it Private

The lesson here, I hope, is that you should always respond to the complaints and feedback publicly first. Keep it brief and professional. THEN try to take the conversation offline if you need to.(Click to tweet this) This way you reassure your other customers, fans, followers, and onlookers that you are responsive. That you’re actually PRESENT on the network. That you’re listening.

Appearances can be deceiving…and that’s not always working in your favour! (Click to tweet this).

]]>http://twirp.ca/2015/02/responding-in-private-on-social-media-is-not-good-enough/feed/0Using Hootsuite to Add url Parameters for Analytics Trackinghttp://twirp.ca/2015/02/using-hootsuite-add-url-parameters-analytics-tracking/
http://twirp.ca/2015/02/using-hootsuite-add-url-parameters-analytics-tracking/#commentsWed, 11 Feb 2015 20:11:22 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3427Like anything else, you can't say you're successful if you can't measure that success. If you can't remember exactly which campaigns you want to track and how they were worded, you'll end up with three versions of each campaign, which will make your analysis more difficult in the end.

]]>Honestly, the most difficult part of using Hootsuite (aff) to add url parameters to your shortened links is remembering to do it. It really is very simple and can make your Google analytics reports make so much more sense.

Define your url tracking strategy

Like anything else, you can’t say you’re successful if you can’t measure that success. If you can’t remember exactly which campaigns you want to track and how they were worded, you’ll end up with three versions of each campaign, which will make your analysis more difficult in the end.

Here’s what you need to decide:
1. What platforms will I use and do I need to track each one separately?
2. What methods will I use on each platform? i.e. post, ad, photo, link, video
3. What will I call each campaign? i.e. “Review & Win” vs. “Review and Win”. It is important to use the same wording each time so your results will be properly grouped.

How to use the Hootsuite url parameter feature

Tips for efficient use of the Hootsuite url parameter feature

1. Create saved “presets” for each variation of each campaign.
2. Link your GA to your Hootsuite (this is a paid upgrade within your reports)
3. Always double check that you’re using the right preset and that the codes match what you intended. I have unintentionally changed my presets a few times.

Currently I have about 20 presets in my Hootsuite list, for three clients. It saves a lot of time by me not having to remember exactly how something was set up. How will you use this feature?

]]>http://twirp.ca/2015/02/using-hootsuite-add-url-parameters-analytics-tracking/feed/012 Days of Social Media: Social Media Christmas Funnies RoundUphttp://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-social-media-christmas-roundup/
http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-social-media-christmas-roundup/#commentsThu, 25 Dec 2014 11:00:53 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3503Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Please enjoy a few of my favourite holiday social media parodies and cartoons. A day without laughter is like a life without the sun.

]]>Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Please enjoy a few of my favourite holiday social media parodies and cartoons. A day without laughter is like a life without the sun.

The Christmas Story, if Facebook had existed when Jesus was conceived

The Christmas Story, if the whole internet had existed

If Jesus were born in 2010

Santa’s Love-Hate Relationship with Social Media

Twas the Night Before Christmas, Social Media Style

There are several fun parodies of this Christmas classic out there. I posted this one on the Twirp blog last year for Christmas. This one sounds way too familiar, from the Pinterest in bed, right through to the fake winnings! This one, too, is quite familiar, since it’s written from the social media marketer’s perspective.

Santa is on Social Media

When you’re ready to thank the big guy for your Christmas prezzies, perhaps you could use one of his many official Twitter accounts, or Facebook Pages, or even his app!

Could Santa Benefit by Using Hootsuite?

Even my favourite social media dashboard, Hootsuite, has a great account of how Santa could use their analytics to make Christmas decisions.

If I’ve missed your favourite social media Christmas cartoon, video or poem, feel free to share in the comments… but don’t expect an answer for a few days

]]>http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-of-social-media-christmas-roundup/feed/012 Days of Social Media: Top Tips for LinkedInhttp://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-top-tips-linkedin/
http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-top-tips-linkedin/#commentsWed, 24 Dec 2014 16:12:59 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3490LinkedIn is the network I get the fewest questions about, so I tend to forget to write blog posts about it. On the second to last day of my 12 Days of Social Media, I thought it was high time I give you some of the best tips for making use of LinkedIn.

]]>LinkedIn is the network I get the fewest questions about, so I tend to forget to write blog posts about it. On the second to last day of my 12 Days of Social Media, I thought it was high time I give you some of the best tips for making use of LinkedIn.

Don’t pay for LinkedIn Premium

Most small business owners do not need to pay for the premium LinkedIn account. There are two main “benefits”: you can see more information about who is looking at your profile, and you can send InMail messages to people you are not yet connected to. Most of the small business owners I see don’t even know you can see who’s been looking at your profile and/or don’t care, so the extra information isn’t of any use to them. And, for the number of times I want to send a message on LinkedIn to someone with whom I’m not yet connected, I simply send them a connection request and then follow up. That said, there are people who mine LinkedIn for potential business and do need to be able to send more elaborate messages, or see more info about who is looking at their profiles. If you need that, then by all means, upgrade.

Think About Your Headline

Don’t waste precious space in your headline by simply saying you are the CEO, Partner, Founder, or Entrepreneur. Unless you are Richard Branson, “entrepreneur” just isn’t going to cut it. If you are a small business owner, you need to use that space to tell potential clients what you do. Very few people go to LinkedIn and search for a “CEO” or an “entrepreneur”. They’re looking for a bookkeeper (who may be the President of her own business), or a lawyer (who may well be a partner in the firm). See what I mean? Get some of your keyword phrases into that headline.

Double Check Your Contact Info

I cannot count how many times I’ve had people check their contact info only to find that it’s outdated…pointing people to an email address they no longer even have access to, or a phone they no longer answer. That’s lost opportunities right there!

Know Your Password

If you need to make any changes to your contact info because it is outdated, make sure you know your password. As a security measure, LinkedIn will ask you for your password when you try to make those changes. If you no longer have access to the primary email address listed in your account, this is going to be very difficult to recover. If you’ve forgotten your password LinkedIn will try to send you an email to the “primary” email address listed in your account…so it’s vital that you have access to at least that one email address listed in your contact info.

Customize Your Public URL

Take a few minutes to customize the public URL for your profile. If you have a very common name, it will make it much easier for your contacts to find you if you can say go to ca.LinkedIn.com/in/anitahovey.

Summarize Your Present

The summary is not the place to outline all of the work you did in the past. Use this space to talk about the type of work you want to do now and in the future. This is a very important space for the LinkedIn search engine, so if you fill it up with keywords from your past career, that’s what LinkedIn is going to think is important about you, and that is what types of searches you will show up in. Present and future-facing.

Add Some Fun Stuff

If you’ve spent days and days on a major presentation, think about adding the video or the slide deck to your summary section so people can check it out. It adds visual interest, but it also gives potential clients/customers a chance to see your expertise in action. Transferring a PowerPoint presentation into SlideShare is pretty simple and not only can you add the SlideShare to your LinkedIn profile, but you have another piece of content you can easily share out on your social networks. Recycle!!

Complete Your Profile

Fill out as much information as you think is relevant to your current position. You don’t have to go back and fill out your part-time jobs from high school, but you should show a full history of your employment, education, extra training and certifications, and awards you’ve won. People are also interested in seeing your volunteer commitments and publications.

Get Active in Groups

The trick to groups in LinkedIn is to find ones that are active, but without a lot of spam. You’re looking for groups that are relevant to you, your customers or your geographic area, but that are filled with thoughtful conversation, not simply a bunch of links to members’ blogs. Getting active in groups can boost your expert status.

Connect With People

Personally, I will accept connection requests from pretty much anyone in my geographic target area, even if I don’t know them…maybe I will get to know them through LinkedIn. The thing is, you never know where your next referral will come from. Perhaps they’re connecting because they’ve heard good things about you and want to check you out a bit more.

Place More Weight on Recommendations Than Endorsements

LinkedIn gives us two ways to let a person know they’re good at their job: Endorsements are a quick and easy click of a button and Recommendations are a more thoughtful explanation of why you would recommend a person. Endorsements are a necessary evil, in my opinion. If you don’t have enough on your profile, people think there’s a reason…aesthetically it looks bad. However, if you think about all the endorsements you get from people you don’t know, for things you don’t excel at…you’ll understand why I don’t put a lot of stock in what people are endorsed for. Recommendations are a much better way to screen a potential candidate, client or supplier.

These are some of my most common LinkedIn tips from corporate training sessions. What’s the best LinkedIn tip you’ve ever received?

]]>http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-top-tips-linkedin/feed/012 Days of Social Media: Blogs to Follow for Social Media Informationhttp://twirp.ca/2014/12/blogs-to-follow-for-social-media-information/
http://twirp.ca/2014/12/blogs-to-follow-for-social-media-information/#commentsTue, 23 Dec 2014 11:00:57 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3505Social media simply changes too fast and too often for one person to know everything about every network. Here are some of the people/companies that I follow to keep up-to-date on the various networks and programs we all use and love/hate.

]]>I’m really pulling back the curtain here and letting you in on a little secret…I don’t know everything about social media! Shhhhhhhhh! I rely on a variety of other social media experts to help keep me in the loop on all things social. Social media simply changes too fast and too often for one person to know everything about every network. Here are some of the people/companies that I follow to keep up-to-date on the various networks and programs we all use and love/hate.

1. Jon Loomer – I’ve mentioned Jon many times, and to many people. If you want to understand Facebook advertising, this is the website to check out. He’s got great training modules and lots of helpful blog posts. Jon is probably my number one website referral point.

2. Melonie Dodaro – Melonie focuses on LinkedIn. Her blog is full of great tips for optimizing your LinkedIn presence and making use of the advanced features.

3. Jay Baer- Jay is, most recently, the author of Youtility, one of my favourite social media marketing books. This blog was recently named the number one blog for content marketing by the Content Marketing Institute. Whether you like to read or listen, Jay has both options for you.

4. Giles Crouch – To get access to Giles’ thoughts on the future of digital and big data, you’ll have to follow him on LinkedIn where he publishes his posts.

5. Hootsuite – Featuring tips for the small business owner, case studies and, of course, the latest updates to Hootsuite and the Hootsuite app.

6. Rebekah Radice – Is it wrong that the first thing I want to say about Rebekah’s blog is that she has awesome graphics? Her blog is full of great tips for all the networks.

7. Peggy Fitzpatrick – I first “met” Peggy while writing for 12 Most. Peggy’s blog, also full of great graphics, is full of tips for Pinterest and Google +, two of the lesser used networks locally. Peggy recently co-authored her first book “The Art of Social Media” with Guy Kawasaki.

8. Leaderswest - Jim Dougherty curates this blog from a varied list of bloggers…I’ve been lucky enough to be featured on there once. Info ranges from SEO, to blogging, from customer service to WordPress attacks and how to prevent them.

9. unmarketing – Scott is always good for a good ol’ common sense, kick-in-the-pants laugh. This is another blog that gives you the choice of reading or listening via podcast.

These are the blogs I find myself reading time and again, and retweeting. What are your go-to blogs for social media advice, inspiration and information?

]]>http://twirp.ca/2014/12/blogs-to-follow-for-social-media-information/feed/212 Days of Social Media Posts: 12 Favourite Toolshttp://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-posts-12-favourite-tools/
http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-posts-12-favourite-tools/#commentsMon, 22 Dec 2014 15:05:35 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3476Sharing my 12 favourite small business tools for social media management. Some of these are software, some are in the cloud and some are phone apps.

]]>Day nine of my12 Days of Social Media Posts challenge and I’m going to share my 12 favourite small business tools with you. Some of these are software, some are in the cloud and some are phone apps. These are the 12 I use on a regular basis.

Hootsuite (affiliate link)- I am a Hootsuite North America Ambassador. I love this product. Check out all the posts I’ve written extolling the virtues of Hootsuite for small business.

Buffer – A different method of scheduling content. Set a daily schedule and then queue up your content.

WordPress – This website and blog are powered by WordPress. It has so much capability that I’ve not even thought about unleashing. If your website developer is saying you shouldn’t use WordPress, it’s likely they simply haven’t given it a fair chance and they’re trying to sell you the system they know how to use better. For SEO, it just doesn’t get any easier that WordPress with all the available plugins.

Evergreen Post Tweeter – Speaking of plugins and extensions, this is the way I recycle old blog content a few times a week. I have mine set to three days a week, send out a random evergreen post via Twitter. I almost always get new RT’s and new people viewing the post. Not everyone can see it the first time it is published and you’re hopefully always gaining new followers.

Dropbox (affiliate link)- Who doesn’t use Dropbox now? My graphic designer shares my files this way. Clients give me access to hi-res photos through shared folders. I have a WordPress plugin that automatically backs up my whole website to a Dropbox file (this SAVED MY SANITY once already). I also have my cell phone and other programs auto-upload things to Dropbox for later use.

Ifttt.com and Zapier.com(affiliate link) – Both programs work in the same manner and allow you to automate social tasks. I use Zapier to search Instagram for a specific hashtag and automatically save the picture to a Dropbox folder. Ifttt.com is set up to auto-share blog posts to some social profiles for a group I am involved in. Zapier also sends reminders out via my Gmail account to bloggers and to the person that pays the bloggers. They both have a ton of features I’m not using.

Facebook Grid Image Checker – If you are making graphics for Facebook ads (you are using Facebook advertising now, aren’t you?), you should be using the Grid Image Checker. It’s super easy to use to figure out whether or not your graphic will be allowed as a Facebook ad. All ads must contain LESS THAN 20% text and you cannot simply eyeball it, or figure it out in your own way. Use the tool. I have had ads disapproved for now following the text rule more than a few times and it can take days or weeks to appeal if you’re close to 20% or if it was disapproved in error. It’s just not worth the hassle. Use the tool. Don’t try to “fudge” it.

GIMP – GIMP is a free, downloadable graphic design program. I’m certainly no graphic designer, but I’m able to use it to add quotes to pictures, crop and layer simple things, and convert PDFs to .jpgs so they’re shareable on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Repost- This is a great phone app that allows you to reshare someone else’s Instagram photo, i.e. a photo of your product, on your own Instagram feed. There are a few different apps that help you do this and this is just the first one I tried, so others may be better or have more features.

PhotoGrid – This is another new app that I’ve been playing around with to make collages for social media postings. I made this one from pics of a recent busy day meeting “celebrities”. Just upload your pictures, rearrange, play with the background and shapes and VOILA!

So there you go… twelve tools I use regularly. There are likely more… what are some of your favourite tools?

]]>http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-posts-12-favourite-tools/feed/012 Days of Social Media: Twirp’s Favourite Hootsuite Featureshttp://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-twirps-favourite-hootsuite-features/
http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-twirps-favourite-hootsuite-features/#commentsSun, 21 Dec 2014 14:32:18 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3606Some of the best Hootsuite features have come along in just the past few months. Here's a breakdown of some of my favourite Hootsuite features.

]]>It’s been nearly two and a half years since I wrote a post specifically extolling the virtues of Hootsuite, so it’s time to share my favourite Hootsuite features. Since the last post I’ve become a Hootsuite Ambassador for North America (volunteer) and Hootsuite has introduced many new features, add-ons and even updated their logo and user interface. Here are some of the best features and reasons why I love using Hootsuite to manage social media for my clients.

Ability to Schedule Content

Like it or hate it, social media is here to stay and to keep up, you’re going to need a way to schedule content and spread it out, or you’ll be spending way too much time on each of the networks. Hootsuite gives you the ability to choose a specific time for each tweet/post to arrive, or you can use the Autoschedule feature whereby Hootsuite magically determines what time would be best to reach the most of your followers.

Ability to Cross Post

On the free version of Hootsuite you can hook up five accounts and cross post the same content to all of them at once, saving oodles of time. If you pay for the upgrade, you can hook up unlimited accounts…perfect for those who are using more networks, or have multiple brands to manage.

Saving Streams of Searches

Perhaps one of the most underrated features of Hootsuite is the ability to save a search as an always-updated stream. For example, as a Hootsuite Ambassador, I have a Twitter search that watches for comments about Hootsuite in my geogrpahic area of Halifax, Nova Scotia. This column is always up-to-date with the most recent tweets making it very easy for me to respond to questions and comments on behalf of Hootsuite. You could use this feature to look for leads!

Link Shortening

Not only is link shortening built right into the compose window, you can easily add custom url tags to each link making it easier to track campaigns in Google Analytics. If there are certain tags formations you use regularly, you can even save them as a preset so you don’t have to remember the specifics each time.

Analytics

There are reports for everything from your Twitter follower growth to the number of people that clicked on a specific link you tweeted (if that link was shortened through Hootsuite). Some of the analytics reports are free, and you can upgrade to get more options.

Schedule Pictures to Twitter

For a long time Hootsuite users were resigned to sending out links only to their scheduled pictures…but no more! Pro users now have the ability to send pictures to Twitter that will appear as in-line pictures instead of links. This was one update I was very excited to see.

Schedule Pictures to Specific Facebook Albums

This is one of the most recent feature additions. When you select a Facebook Page to send a picture to, you can now choose any of the existing albums on that Page for the picture to appear in. This would be a great feature for companies with specific products going into specific albums.

Hootsuite Mobile App

Like many apps, the Hootsuite app doesn’t have all the same features, but your accounts are all synced with what you might have been doing on your laptop, so no matter which device you’re using, you’ve got the most up-to-date information to see. The mobile app also has push notifications so you can be alerted to tweets and messages on the go. The app includes the autoschedule feature, but as of yet does not include the ability to send pictures to Twitter.

These are just a few of my favourite features in Hootsuite. I also love that it is a Canadian company and they happen to have very good online support options if you’re having problems…not to mention your local Hootsuite Ambassador is just a few clicks away!

]]>http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-twirps-favourite-hootsuite-features/feed/012 Days of Social Media: Top 10 Tips for Marketing your Business on Facebookhttp://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-top-10-tips-marketing-business-facebook/
http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-top-10-tips-marketing-business-facebook/#commentsSat, 20 Dec 2014 11:00:16 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3494Every social media presentation I give participants ask which network they should focus on first, and many assume it's Facebook. Chances are, for most small businesses, Facebook is going to be the first stop on your social media strategy. Here are some of my top tips for marketing your business on Facebook.

]]>Every social media presentation I give participants ask which network they should focus on first, and many assume it’s Facebook. Chances are, for most small businesses, Facebook is going to be the first stop on your social media strategy. Here are some of my top tips for marketing your business on Facebook.

Start a Business Page

Besides the fact that Facebook doesn’t allow you to run your business off a personal profile or group, there are specific benefits to having a Business Page. You’ll get access to analytics, advertising, and widgets for your website, among other things. People do not want to “friend” a business, but they will Like one.

Complete your Profiles

Make sure you have all the basic information filled out: your website, hours of operation and location if applicable. You can put in information about your services or products, or your company history if it’s interesting. If your company has a long history, consider adding some vintage pictures/events to the Timeline.

Be Consistent

Don’t start a Facebook Page for your business until you are prepared to post to it on a regular basis. That doesn’t mean you have to spend all day, every day, on Facebook, but you do need to post regularly or the Facebook algorithmwill work against you, and your fans will not see your posts.

Don’t Over Share

This is a tricky one. You need to post at least daily, and if you can post more often that’s great. However, in Halifax I hear from people that posting more than a couple of times a day is just too much. So, if you’re posting 6-8 times a day on your Business Page, you might want to reevaluate what you’re posting to see if it’s really meeting your goals.

This also means don’t over share personal information. Yes, your fans want to see the human side of the business, but they don’t need to know if you haven’t showered in three days because you’re sick in bed with hand, foot and mouth disease. Keep the personal posts light and sparse on your Business Page.

Have a Strategy

You need to have a plan for what you will post and when. It can be as simple as a schedule of theme days for each day of the week so that you know Mondays are “Motivational Monday”. Setting up a calendar to track what you need to post can truly save your sanity. This will also help prevent you from over posting any one type of content. If it’s easy for you to find motivational quotes to post and you post them daily, the more helpful content about your business could be getting lost in the shuffle. Use a schedule to space out your content appropriately.

Don’t Respond or Post When Angry

If someone leaves negative feedback about your business, you should have a standard answer that you can give quickly so they know they’ve been heard, but you need to refrain from “getting into it” while you’re still reeling from the feedback. This is your business…it’s your baby… and it hurts when someone posts something negative. Your gut reaction is to strike back, but it will do you more harm than good in the long run. Take the time to calm down and respond tomorrow if need be.

Respond to Every Post/Review/Comment

You do need to respond to every review and comment on your Page, whether they are positive or negative. If you’re getting a ton of comments on a post, perhaps all you have time to do is click Like on the comments, but at least they were all acknowledged. If you never interact with your fans’ comments on your page they’re going to wonder if you ever read what they’re saying. And if they wonder long enough, they will stop posting, which is the first step in your fans NOT seeing your content any longer.

Talk to People

As your business, go to other Business Pages and comment on things. Don’t spam them with offers for your business, but join the conversation. It’s ok to congratulate another business on an award, or say how much you like the product in the picture. This can help bring awareness to your own Business Page and to the fact that you are actually active on Facebook.

Be Useful

I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t know how to be useful on your Business Page I HIGHLY recommend you get the bookYoutility by Jay Baer. This book is all about how to develop useful marketing. You can start by simply answering your most frequently asked questions on your blog and posting links on your Business Page.

Build Relationships, Not Numbers

Remember, the goal of social media shouldn’t be to make sales. There are many different goals for social media, and done well, it will lead to sales. However, if you’re focus is on sales, you won’t provide the best social media content, the kind that will attract your ideal clients. Think about Miracle on 34th Street and how Santa Clause started sending Macy’s customers to other stores and how that resulted in better sales for them. Be truly helpful and useful and it will lead to sales.

Interestingly, most of these tips work for Twitter, LinkedIn and any other network, too.

]]>http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-top-10-tips-marketing-business-facebook/feed/012 Days of Social Media: Social Media Myths Bustedhttp://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-social-media-myths-busted/
http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-social-media-myths-busted/#commentsFri, 19 Dec 2014 11:00:36 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3501I have come to understand that you only understand that which you have an express interest in understanding. Thus, I do not understand quantum physics, the legal aspects of a corporate takeover, or dog people (Cats rule, dogs drool. #SorryNotSorry). Similarly, many small business owners simply do not have the express interest in truly understanding the complexities of social media. Some simply want it to bring in the money and others just want someone else to handle it. This leads to a lot of misunderstanding about social media in general. Here are some of my favourite social media myths.

]]>I have come to understand that you only understand that which you have an express interest in understanding. Thus, I do not understand quantum physics, the legal aspects of a corporate takeover, or dog people (Cats rule, dogs drool. #SorryNotSorry). Similarly, many small business owners simply do not have the express interest in truly understanding the complexities of social media. Some simply want it to bring in the money and others just want someone else to handle it. This leads to a lot of misunderstanding about social media in general. Here are some of my favourite social media myths.

Twitter is too hard to understand.

Twitter, in its current form, is actually much easier to learn, navigate and monitor than any of the other big social networks. There are practically no privacy walls, so what you see is what you get. There is no algorithm (yet) determining what you see and what you don’t. And you don’t have to ask to follow most people (businesses should not have locked/private accounts). Hashtags are simply a way of adding context to a tweet. Acronyms can be learned or looked up. The @ symbol simply indicates your name on Twitter…think of it as your Twitter address. Mine is @AnitaHovey. There. Simple.

Twitter is a broadcast medium.

Twitter is a conversation. If you log in to Twitter once a week to post your special of the week, it simply. Won’t. Work. You need to talk to people…your customers, fans, suppliers and community. Show them your human side. Interact. Seriously…it won’t kill you! Treat Twitter like a networking event: listen intently, be helpful, don’t hog the conversation.

If I Like a Page on Facebook I will see everything that Page posts.

Facebook has a very complicated algorithm that uses over 100 different factors to determine what you see in your news feed. Some of those factors include:

Type of content: Video gets shown more than pictures, which get shown more than plain text updates.

Frequency of interaction: How often do you actually interact with that person or Page? Clicking Like on their updates will help you see more of their content.

Recency: If you log in on Friday and the last time a Page posted was Monday, you’re not likely going to see that post in your newsfeed.

Popularity: If a post gets a lot of interaction, Facebook’s algorithm determines it must be important, so it actually shows it to more people.

These descriptions are very rudimentary and I’m sure the Facebook team is cringing right now, but you get the idea. Facebook simply isn’t showing you everything you’ve signed up to see. Same goes for your fans. So you’d better make your content good! And if you want to see more from a Page or a friend, go interact with their content for a few days and see what happens.

Facebook privacy notice

This old scam has popped up again, encouraging users to post a disclaimer on their profiles that Facebook may not use their information or pictures for any purpose, blah, blah, blah. It simply won’t do you any good. Whether or not you read the Terms of Service, when you signed up to use Facebook, you agreed to let Facebook do certain things with your information. What they are doing is often misconstrued by the conspiracy theorists, so don’t let those extreme reports get to you. Be careful, of course, but Facebook isn’t quite the big, bad wolf just yet.

LinkedIn Premium

Most small business owners do not need to pay for the premium LinkedIn account. There are two main “benefits”: you can see more information about who is looking at your profile, and you can send InMail messages to people you are not yet connected to. Most of the small business owners I see don’t even know you can see who’s been looking at your profile and/or don’t care, so the extra information isn’t of any use to them. And, for the number of times I want to send a message on LinkedIn to someone with whom I’m not yet connected, I simply send them a connection request and then follow up. That said, there are people who mine LinkedIn for potential business and do need to be able to send more elaborate messages, or see more info about who is looking at their profiles. If you need that, then by all means, upgrade.

You have to pay for good search rankings

I am NOT an SEO expert, but I have managed to maintain good search engine rankings without paying hundreds of dollars monthly for an SEO company. Some of my clients do have great SEO companies they work with and if you’re in the market for one in Halifax, I do have a couple of reliable and legitimate recommendations for you. However, there are many other SEO companies out there that are simply scamming people out of their money. As a small business owner you need to be very careful and do a lot of research on the company you are considering hiring. There is a lot of work you can do in the background of your website and blog to help improve your search rankings…try that first before you spend a ton of your hard-earned revenue on something you might not need. Start with this post I wrote on SEO Tips for Beginner Bloggers.

Teens aren’t using Facebook anymore

Teens have moved on to other networks, yes. However, Facebook still seems to be the network of choice for reaching them. This great quote from Pew Internet Research says it all “Sampling other items at the social media buffet is not the same as swearing off salad forever.” I also want you to think about whether or not it matters to you and your business if *TEENS* are there? Are you marketing to teens or their parents? I don’t deal with too many local businesses who are directly targeting a teen population, but many are targeting their parents. The parents are definitely there. Over 70% of us according to studies.

Social media takes way too much time

Yes, it does take some of your precious time to manage social media. Some companies need to outsource or hire someone to handle all of the social accounts. However, for the small business owner, there are ways to streamline your time and make social media manageable, such as using Hootsuite to schedule posts. If you can focus on what needs to be done, get it done and get out, it is possible to manage your social media in 20-30 minutes a dayor less. Of course it depends on what networks you tackle and how time-consuming your content plan is.

]]>http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-social-media-myths-busted/feed/012 Days of Social Media: 12 Great Facebook Pages to Follow for Social Media Advicehttp://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-12-great-facebook-pages-follow-social-media-advice/
http://twirp.ca/2014/12/12-days-social-media-12-great-facebook-pages-follow-social-media-advice/#commentsThu, 18 Dec 2014 11:00:40 +0000http://twirp.ca/?p=3497So maybe you haven't quite made it to Twitter yet and yesterday's post listing 12 great Halifax Twitter accounts to follow wasn't the best fit for you. Today's post is all about Facebook. Whether you're looking for local pages to follow (AHEM Twirp Communications), or sources of social media information, there is something for everyone on Facebook. Here are some great Pages to get you started.

]]>So maybe you haven’t quite made it to Twitter yet and yesterday’s post listing 12 great Halifax Twitter accounts to follow wasn’t the best fit for you. Today’s post is all about Facebook. Whether you’re looking for local pages to follow (AHEM Twirp Communications), or sources of social media information, there is something for everyone on Facebook. Here are some great Pages to get you started.

Facebook Pages about Social Media

Social Identities – Hugh Briss is a graphic designer, but spends a lot of time examining and investigating all aspects of Facebook. He often discovers interesting little tricks and tidbits most of us would miss because we’re not graphic designers. Always full of great information for the amateur Facebook marketer.

Jon Loomer – Jon is *THE* Facebook advertising guru. I haven’t come across anyone else that concentrates on Facebook advertising to the same degree as Jon. He has online training courses for Facebook Advertising, as well as for the Power Editor option. Like Hugh, he is always delving deeper into the changes in Facebook and bringing a level-headed approach to dealing with them.

Mari Smith – Mari “like Ferrari” helps entrepreneurs learn how to leverage Facebook. She’s often the first to talk about big changes coming to the network, and does so in layman’s terms that even a Facebook newbie can understand.

Mashable – Lots of info on all things digital, social media and online. Sometimes entertaining, sometimes educational. Also check out Mashable Social Media.

AllFacebook.com – As the name suggests, they talk about everything Facebook, and then some. Often the first to break news of changes to Facebook.

Great Brands on Facebook

If you’re more the kind of person who learns by example, then check out some of these big brands to see how they’re using the network to build a community around their brand.

Oreo – I also highly recommend you follow Oreo on Vine. I love their videos.

Skittles – There is just so much fun you can have with rainbows. It’s also interesting to look at the “voice” they use for the Skittles brand…a bit sarcastic and irreverent.

Ok, ok. I know Oreo and Skittles probably have more of a budget than you do. So here are a couple of smaller, local businesses that have great Facebook Pages to emulate.

Garrison Brewing Company – They have great photography and I’m fairly certain the majority of it is not professional. They have a great mix of product shots and behind the scenes stuff and they are great at building up the buzz around product launches.

Small Jobs Plumbing – One of the few Red Seal Certified female plumbers in the country, Small Jobs has a page full of useful information on plumbing, personal tidbits so you get to know Tammy & Sherry, as well as referrals and recommendations for other local businesses. They’re getting it right.

Kameleon Jewelry- A lot of people don’t even know this business is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They play on social like the big guys, with their branded games and constant stream of posts and giveaways. I’m a big fan of the jewelry and their social media (even if they don’t follow all of Facebook’s rules for contests…they’re getting away with it, for now).

NS SPCA – The internet loves cats and dogs, so it shouldn’t be difficult for any animal-focused organization to put out popular content. The local chapter of the SPCA does a great job, featuring cats and dogs available for adoption…and again, they don’t have the budget to be hiring professional photographers! Just show us your stuff, like the SPCA.

I’m always on the lookout for great examples of Halifax social media. If you think a Facebook Page, or Twitter account from Halifax is particularly fabulous, give them a shoutout in the comments so I can check them out.